The Demise of Lofts

I fell in love with the idea of living in a loft in the early 80’s. I was just about to graduate from college and Jennifer Beals was dancing across the screen in Flashdance in a beautiful, industrial-strength loft. It was a beautiful living space — about 2,000 square feet with no walls and no rooms. Ever since then I have dreamed of living in a completely open floor plan. Bed at one end, kitchen at the other, living and dining and working in between.

We are in the process of relocating to North Carolina and have entertained the idea of living in a loft. Unfortunately, today’s brain-dead developers have co-opted the term “loft” in their attempt to be hip. The marketing people have not been talking to the architects and builders.

For example, consider the Lofts at Lakeview in Durham. Download their brochure. Take a look at the floor plans. Granted the living room is open all the way to the kitchen. But the bedrooms and closets are crammed behind ugly and unnecessary walls.

These are not lofts by any definition of the word. They are urban apartments with an over abundance of LCD TVs in the common areas. Some day I will live in a loft. But it looks like it will not be offered by any of today’s urban developers.